The Lament for Icarus
by satbiym
Summary: All his life, Yuuri had been warned in foreboding tones, "Don't fly too close to the sun, or else…" Having disregarded that particular piece of advice by literally flying too close to the sun and plunging to his death in a spectacularly public and very much televised fashion, Yuuri fully expected to die. No one warned him about the enthusiastic Titan Lord of the Sun.
1. Chapter 1

_My soul is wrought_ _to sing of forms transformed_

 _to bodies new and strange! Immortal Gods_

 _inspire my heart, for ye have changed yourselves_

 _and all things you have changed! Oh lead my song_

 _in smooth and measured strains, from olden days_

 _when earth began to this completed time!_

\- Ovid

* * *

On the morn of the Summer Solstice, in front of a crowd of thousands, Yuuri Katsuki dies.

* * *

When Yuuri was sixteen years old, he destroyed his uneasy detente with the sea, the entity he had previously valued in appreciation directly proportional to the distance between them, by plunging head-first into its raving depths on a particularly chilly winter night.

Of course, Yuuri's previous preferences of staying the hell away from the sea and its seductive depths, didn't lend itself very well to the very practical pursuit of knowing how to swim or even float while surrounded by water higher than his shoulders, but _how hard could it be?_ Yuuri thought grimly, as salt water bit his eyes and the cold nipped his skin. He could feel the ever reliable strength of the ocean current assert its dominance over Yuuri's young body.

Any other day, Yuuri would have considered being sacrificed in Poseidon's realm a just punishment for his lack of foresight, only the reason for Yuuri's aforementioned lack of foresight shrieked, the sound seeming to echo in the clouds as they flashed blue with raging electricity.

Yuuri held his breath with firmer resolve, fists clenching, as he waddled his way to the child who was wailing at the sky for assistance, like he was appealing to the gods themselves to save him. The night raged on, somehow urged on by the child's wails, the sea becoming more and more violent the louder the child got.

Yuuri could taste the salt as the water hit his face with the force of a slap.

By Poseidon's grace they hadn't died yet, but it wouldn't be long before the sea claimed them.

Yuuri had to get to the child before that happened.

He **had** to.

The burn in his legs and arms lessened, as Yuuri was filled with sudden strength with the force of his resolve, giving him the energy he needed to shoot across the distance separating him from the child, and envelope him in his arms.

The child wailed louder.

There was a rushing sound, Yuuri looked up only to see an enormous, serpentine wave curled over him. He tightened his grip, and held on to the wiggling pile of limbs.

After.

After what seemed like Poseidon's himself decided to punch them in the face with knuckle rings, Yuuri emerged, dragging himself on the sandy floor of the sea, heavier still because of his dripping clothes, shoving the now limp body in his arms along.

He coughed up sea-water, urgently rolling the young body to its back, and checked for signs of life.

A weak heartbeat.

Yuuri, careful of his strength, now more than ever thankful for Minako's lessons, steadily delivered the necessary weight to the child's chest, willing his heart to beat louder. Muscle memory taking over his frantic mind and heart. He pinched the child's nose, and shared his own breath with him, praying to the gods to be merciful.

The night's air turned colder and the sky grew lighter, as Yuuri continued the firm movements, uncaring of the hour.

" _Please, please, please, don't die, please don't die, please, please, please_ " Yuuri chanted under his breath, his sixteen year old mind struck with the unfairness of a mother losing her child, especially one so young in age. Yuuri wondered if this child, with wet hair made dark by the treacherous sea water, had a father, or if he was like Yuuri. Who would mourn him if he breathed his last, here, in Yuuri's arms?

The air grew warmer. But Yuuri paid it no mind, inured to the burn in his own lungs, as he tried to share his life with the child. Yuuri kept pumping his palms to a steady beat, willing life into the tiny body.

So frantic was he, that he jumped into the air, landing to crouch protectively over the younger body when a searing heat hit his shoulders.

Yuuri looked up wildly, only to be blinded with radiance.

He hissed and flinched, curling up against the child. He was ready to fight the intruder if necessary, but needed to take a small break from the bright light.

"Easy, easy, little hero. It's going to be alright now," A smooth voice said, the syllables of the spoken words resonating within Yuuri's bones," _ **I am here**_ _._ "

 _I am burning up_ , Yuuri realized belatedly. He must have expended more strength than he realized, trying to revive the younger boy, for his body to be protesting so vociferously.

Yuuri clenched his eyes shut, the dried salt in his face crunching uncomfortably.

He could smell smoke. The chill seeping into his bones warring with the heat coming off of the intruder, he could hear the rushing of the sea and the smooth skin of the child underneath his fingers.

Yuuri opened his eyes.

He was in his bed at home, dry as a bone.

Yuuri gasped, shoving off of his bed, and looked around wildly.

He saw his childhood room in his childhood home in his childhood town, away from rising seas and soothing strangers.

Yuuri brought his hands up to his face, covering his mouth; they were trembling.

He could still smell the sea-salt in the crevices of his hands.

* * *

 _No fable made famous by the Greeks is to be neglected._

\- _Hippolytus of Rome, Philosophumena_

* * *

Yuuri never told a soul about the night he almost drowned.

He never talked about the blinding heat of the stranger, or how he wound up in his room in the blink of an eye, or how his body felt like it was still underwater for days afterwards.

Or how his dreams were overtaken by silver. How every night he flew, skating through the air on metallic wings with a mysterious partner, how he colored the sky with the tips of his fingers and was enveloped in a warm cocoon of laughter and heat every time he drew closer to his dancing partner.

He told no one, not his mother (Who would panic at him being near the sea, after her repeated warnings to stay away from the water), nor his sister (who would slap him on his head for jumping in without knowing how to swim).

He only forced a smile as he woke up from another particularly warm dream draped in visions of silver skies, one lunar cycle after The Incident, as his mind christened it, as his mother brought in his birthday cake wishing him good tidings in a voice so dear that it didn't matter that it was off-tune.

He didn't say anything as Minako rushed in, hair flying every way, screaming about the Titan Lord of the Sun.

He affected casual nonchalance as Minako's sharp gaze pinned him to the floor, speaking words of faux mutual amazement and wonder, as his gut rolled with suspicion, as he remembered the heat emanating from the stranger that night.

 _The Titan Lord of the Sun had saved them all_ , The villagers cried to one another, their celebration so loud that surely even the gods themselves could hear it in their realms.

"What do you want for your birthday, Yuuri?" His mother asked, eyes bright with silent relief as if an invisible weight had been lifted off her shoulders, "We have double the cause to celebrate!"

 _Easy, easy, little hero. It's going to be alright now, I'm here._

Yuuri looked around, at the laughing villagers, at Minako drinking them all under the table, looking younger than her years; at his sister leaning against the wall, coolly detached, if you didn't know to look underneath to the naked relief in her gaze; at his mother, unburdened for the first time in years, and he thought of soaring through the clouds, silver skies and of painting the clouds.

He came to a decision.

"Mom, I want….no, I need… your leave."

Hiroko smiled blithely, unaware of what Yuuri was going to ask of her, "Leave for what, my love?"

Yuuri steeled himself, "I need your leave. I want to attempt The Labours. I want to become a Hero."

The restaurant quietened.

They turned to look at them. Yuuri was trembling with the force of the gaze, but he held firm with visions of silver skies.

He was doing the right thing.

But even that didn't prepare him for the blankness in Hiroko's expression. The bleakness in her eyes.

Yuuri could feel his soul falter at his mother's sadness. He opened his mouth to say something, _anything._

A hand landed on his shoulder. He looked up to see Minako's keen gaze, stable despite the liquor she had consumed.

She lifted his right arm, and loudly declared with a voice that resounded with the finality of temple bells, " **May the gods light your way home!** "

The declaration seemed to shatter the glass atmosphere, as the villagers echoed the ritual statement, lifting their drinks to the heavens and shouting their support.

Yuuri, with his arm still lifted in a vice grip, saw his mother's lips tremble for a second before she echoed the shouts.

And if her voice shook, no one was cruel enough to call her on it.

For after all, sending a son off to die was enough to do that to a mother.


	2. Chapter 2

Yuuri pushed back his hair, the sweat from the heavy heat plastering it against his forehead. He squinted up at the bright sky, adorned in rich purples and reds, as the sun began its journey home to rest after a hard day's work.

In Yuuri's more fanciful moments he would imagine he could see the golden chariot with the fire-darting steeds, of the Titan Lord of the Sun as it flew across the evening sky, gently nudging the evening to night; when his gentle sibling would shine the luminous light of the moon on the mortal plane.

" _Yuuri!_ "

Yuuri startled. He looked away from the ombre evening sky, to see a lean figure cut across the crowd, their body taking advantage of its leanness to gracefully twist around the people, somehow managing to not touch any of them. Not that they would have minded, Yuuri mused, as he saw his mentor and someone he considered - in his more sentimental moments - a second mother, run to him, face still retaining its youth and vitality, fetchingly flushed from the exercise.

"Please move! Can't you see I'm trying to welcome a _**Hero**_ home?" Minako said testily to a particularly stubborn man unmoved by her charms.

Yuuri sighed.

Here we go.

"What are you talking about lady?! Calm down!" The man said, equally annoyed.

Minako's face bristled, as she said with her nose pointed up, "Yuuri Katsuki? _Icarus_? I'm sure you've heard the name, if not personally, then by reputation. _That_ is him. Now, if you would move I would like to **welcome him home after 5 years of undergoing the Labours.** "

The man moved aside.

Yuuri sighed louder.

Not that it mattered, as he was subsequently squeezed with vicious strength. The same vice grip that had raised his arm and was the first to wish him successfully home, the person who had believed in him before he believed in himself…..was here, clutching him tightly to her bosom, like he was going to fly away any moment.

Yuuri felt his eyes prickle, and his arms, as if detached from his will, flew to wrap around Minako's frame, which was slighter than he remembered it being. He could smell sea salt _,_ a smell that seemed to first belong to Minako and then the sea. At the first whiff of the scent of what he knew to be _home and strength and safety_ , his hands clenched around Minako's clothes without his permission.

His soul hummed with renewed strength, bolts of calm energy bouncing off his bones.

 _He was safe._

 _"Rhodes, Phoebus' [Helios the Sun's] favourite."_

 _Ovid, Metamorphoses_

Yuuri accidentally tuned out Minako as he reveled in the feeling coursing through his body.

He felt…..safe, a concept that had eluded him as he fought for his life for five years, undergoing the Labors. The feeling of being protected that he got from being around Minako, like a benevolent god was on his side, that no matter who he met through his travels could recreate.

He had left five years ago, a boy of sixteen, and returned a Hero. Someone capable of protecting his village and people. Someone his family could be proud of. Someone of worth.

"Yuuri! Stop daydreaming! Don't think you can become too old or god forbid, too Heroic for me to not pull down your pants and spank you!" Minako's clear voice bubbled, the mirth obvious through the faux outrage.

Yuuri spluttered at the conjured image, blushing a furious red as the nearby passengers swerved to give his bottom a considering gaze at the overheard statement.

"Minako..." Yuuri cried out weakly through his fingers, as they clutched his face in despair. Cancel that, he was returning to his Journey. The years had dulled his memory about how good Minako was at humiliation that only family could ignite.

Yuuri decided to save his nostalgic musings for a more appropriate time and settled in to give Minako his full attention, tips of his ears still faintly red.

"Alright. Sorry, Minako. I am listening now." He said turning his body towards her, smiling widely.

Minako blinked, face blanking for a second. Yuuri was taken aback by the minute expression she had let slip.

"Minako?" He asked unsurely.

She blinked, and smiled widely, teeth showing, "Sorry, little duck, I forget sometimes."

Yuuri felt a corner of his heart warm at the childhood nickname, and he said, with his lips quirked slightly up, "Forget what?"

Minako's eyes flashed, as she smiled, teeth still bared, looking more like a shark, like those from the storybooks Yuuri used to read growing up, and she said in a voice that echoed with eons worth of memories, "I forget you're your father's son."

Yuuri felt the statement chase away the warmth in his bones, leaving him cold and empty, his lips flatlined.

Minako's expression softened, and she said, "It's not a bad thing, little duck. No matter how many Journeys you go on, you cannot run from your past. It defines you, it made you who you are. Wear it with pride, so that no one can use it against you."

Yuuri felt the fierceness of her tone as a physical weight on his body, as if she was trying to hammer it into his skin from words alone.

He stayed silent.

For what could you say about being compared to a man who had married and abandoned his mother after giving her two children to take care of? Who had left her with hollow smiles and shattered dreams.

Of course, seeing as how Yuuri had abandoned his mother the same way, all to seek his own fortune, maybe Minako wasn't so far off with her judgement.

Like father, like son.

The chilly thought stayed with him the rest of the way.

* * *

 _The island of Rhodes was entirely consecrated to Helios.. Here an annual festival (Halia) was held during the summer in his honour, with chariot-racing and contests of music and gymnastics; and four consecrated horses were thrown into the sea as a sacrifice to him_

* * *

"Yuuri, look! There it is! The Rhodes Aureole!" Minako's voice cut through his dark thoughts.

Yuuri straightened, everyone in the cart leaning out to catch a glimpse of the famous sculpture dedicated to the Titan Lord of the Sun.

"This is the first time you've seen it, isn't it? Since it was constructed after you had left." Minako continued, voice deceptively light, putting Yuuri on guard. He had seen actual Sphinxes with less of a sense of incoming danger entwined in their voices.

Yuuri hummed noncommittally, wanting to see where she was going to take this train of conversation.

"Tell me, Yuuri, does he actually look like that in real life?" She continued.

Bingo.

Yuuri let out a shaky breath silently, as he said lightly, "I wouldn't know. I've never seen him. No mortal has ever been in his presence and has lived to tell the tale. You _know_ that."

Minako hummed, and distractedly said, "Right. Foolish me."

Yuuri licked his lips, putting Minako's weird behavior out of his head, as he looked at the sculpture before him. As large as a small hill, with a handsome - if rather old - bearded Titan on a chariot drawn by four horses, stood naked with his arms stretched up.

As if he was calling the earth up from the sea.

"You know, I wonder what moved the ever elusive Titan Lord of the Sun from his golden chariot enough for him to give a shit about puny mortals." Minako mused.

Yuuri looked at her in shock and quietly exclaimed, "Minako!"

Minako looked back blithely, "What? We all know it's true!"

Yeah, but you aren't supposed to _say_ it. No one - not even other Immortals - could even hint at disparaging Immortals, especially not the Titan Lord of the freaking _Sun._

But Minako had always had more courage in her tiny body than entire armies combined. Yuuri worried for her, if any of the Immortals had heard her… well, the result wouldn't be pretty.

Tales of caution were practically made up of mortals who thought they were better than the Immortals, and they all paid for it in the end. For their hubris, their criticism, their pride.

Minako continued, unaware or perhaps uncaring of the scared looks she was starting to get from the other passengers in the cart, "We all know that the Immortals only care about where they can get their next lay, or -"

Yuuri was glad that the rest of her sacrilegious statement was drowned out by the humming of the passengers in the crowd, as they tried their best to drown out Minako's voice.

Minako, clearly affronted, spoke louder, to Yuuri's despair.

Yuuri felt like he needed smelling salts. If Minako carried on so, even a hive of bees wouldn't be able to stop Zeus himself from hearing Minako, and smiting the two of them (because it will be a cold day in Elysium before Yuuri let anyone, even Zeus himself, hurt Minako. Anyone who had a beef with her, would be going through _him_ first).

The humming increased in volume.

Yuuri felt an incoming headache.

But somehow, maybe it was by the grace of the overlooking Aureole sculpture looking out for them, they made it past Rhodes to Hasetsu in one piece. The passengers in the cart practically running away like Scylla herself was out to grab them from their seats. Not that Yuuri could blame them.

"Honestly!" The reason for his headache said.

Maybe it was the strain of the day and the accompanying emotions, but Yuuri, despite himself felt laughter bubble up his throat. He trembled with the urge to contain it.

"Aw, Yuuri, don't cry. I'm sorry!" Minako said, tone full of reluctant unhappiness.

Yuuri let his mirth show, frame shaking at the force of his laughter. Clear laughter spilling forth, filling the air with echoes of his amusement.

Minako startled.

She thumped his back approvingly, and with the pride of a lioness, boomed, "There you go, little duck. Not so little anymore, are you? Soon you'll be drinking with the big kids."

Yuuri laughed harder.

Oh if only you knew, Minako.

"I can always count on you to leave him smiling, Minako."

Yuuri's laughter stopped at the soft voice. He straightened, and turned his body towards the sound.

"Ma?"

Hiroko Katsuki smiled, lines on her face - that had not been there the last time Yuuri had seen her in flesh, _five years ago_ \- deepening with her smile, as she gently said, "Welcome Home, Yuuri."

Yuuri smiled, tears finally giving up the fight, wetting his cheeks. He ran to his mother's arms for the first time in five long years, and whispered in her ear the answering call.

" _I'm home._ "

 _"And Theia was subject in love to Hyperion and bare great Helios (Helios, Sun) and clear Selene (Moon) and Eos (Dawn) who shine upon all that are on earth and upon the deathless Gods who live in the wide heaven."_

 _Hesiod, Theogony_

"So, are you here for the Tournament?"

Yuuri looked up, to see a figure leaning against the restaurant's wall.

"Is this how you greet your brother for the first time in half a decade?" He teased, ignoring her question.

The answer was obvious, anyway.

Mari's lips twitched. She flicked her hand and crushed the cigarette in it.

"Hmm, gotten gutsy have you? Who are you and what did you do with my crybaby brother?"

Yuuri smiled widened, feeling all of sixteen again, not a hero, but a brother with his older sister who he thought the world of, "Nah, he's still here. He just has more muscles now. Stops people from calling him a crybaby to his face."

Mari's face broke into a smile, like sunlight through the trees, as she lilted out, "Won't stop me, little brother, won't stop me."

Yuuri said, softly, "I'm counting on it."

And just like that, the five years of voluntary separation disappeared, and the Katsuki siblings were together again.

Funny how family works.

Speaking of, Yuuri turned towards his mother who was bustling around the inn like a hummingbird, lightly dusting and cleaning to ease her excitement of having her son home.

"Ma, I invited a friend to come visit the inn, is that alright?"

If possible, Hiroko's eyes brightened even further, as she leaned forward so much that Yuuri worried that she would topple over. Broken bones were no small thing at her age and he readied himself to catch her if necessary.

"A friend! Is this the young boy that traveled with you during your Journey? The handsome, clever one? Oh! What was his name…?" She exclaimed.

"Daedalus. The _Mechanic_." Mari offered in a neutral tone.

Hiroko jumped slightly at the familiar name, "Oh! That's right! _Daedalus_! What a dear, dear boy!"

Yuuri smiled slightly and said fondly, "Yeah, I met him during the second Labour, and we traveled together from there on. He wanted to go visit his family first before coming here, since he would be here for the Summer Solstice."

Hiroko's expression dimmed, "Summer Solstice?"

Yuuri drew in a breath, as he wondered how to navigate this emotional landmine of a conversation.

"Yes. He's my friend, but he's also one of the best mechanics in the world. I need one….If I am to compete in Halia's Air Skating Tournament."

The atmosphere staled, Yuuri could hear Mari pull in a deep breath at his indelicacy and at the confirmation to her earlier question. But, brutal honesty has never failed him before, and the only way to get through this conversation was by running head-first through it.

Hiroko smiled, the stretch of her lips not hiding the way her eyes shined or lips shook.

"Of course, dear. You are a Hero, of course you would want to participate in the Tournament. Let me know if there is anything I can do for you," she said shakily, supportive till the end.

Yuuri held in a sigh.

* * *

 _"The Korinthians (Corinthians) say that Poseidon had a dispute with Helios (the Sun) about the land [which god should possess Korinthia], and that Briareos (Briareus) [the storm god] arbitrated between them, assigning to Poseidon the Isthmos (Isthmus) and the parts adjoining, and giving to Helios the height above the city."_

 _Pausanias_

* * *

"Yuuri! Over here!"

Yuuri turned towards the voice to see a tan hand visible over the heads of the crowd, waving as its owner jumped up and down.

Yuuri felt a thrill shoot through him at the familiar sight. He moved towards the hand, which was still jumping in place. Yuuri felt a jolt of wry humor as the other passengers carried on, ignoring the tiny boy, carrying what seemed like an entire army's armory on his back, jumping up and down. Despite Yuuri's travels, the disinterested enthusiasm of a crowd in a travel station would never fail to amuse him.

Yuuri, used to the sight, delicately extricated his friend from the crowd, pulling him to the side where the current of the crowd wouldn't carry them back to the mainland.

They emerged from the crowd, breathless and more rumpled than before.

Yuuri took a second to catch his breath, willing his heart to quieten, cursing his ever-growing distaste for crowded places. Being a Hero didn't lend itself well to claustrophobia. Sometimes it seemed like nothing in Yuuri's body lent itself to being a Hero; he was constantly fighting his body every step of the way to reach when he wanted to go.

Yuuri started to let out a sigh at his dismal thoughts, only for it to transform into a high-pitched squeak as his friend caught him in a tight grip that belied his tiny frame.

Yuuri gasped, " _Phichit!_ "

Phichit, the foremost authority on craftsmanship and invention, only grinned wider as he squeezed Yuuri tightly, teasingly lilting out, "Hush you, I have been deprived for _days_ from my daily Yuuri hugs! I demand compensation!"

Yuuri let out an affronted shout, only to dissolve into helpless light giggles as Phichit's breath tickled the sensitive flesh of his throat, aided by Phichit's head being nestled near his throat.

" _Phi-chit_!"

Phichit only grinned, clever dark eyes gleaming brightly, "That's right, say my name. Let the world know the famous hero Icarus hath been defeated by a scrawny nerd."

Yuuri blinked, unimpressed, and poked Phichit's side, finger ruthlessly targeting the tender parts sensitive to the onslaught of tickles, "They won't be saying that once they learn what an irredeemable imp you are, Phichit."

Phichit giggled and raised his hands, palms facing out, in the universal declaration for mercy.

Yuuri straightened, bad mood all but erased from his mind. He half-wondered if Phichit had done it on purpose, seeing as he seemed to almost have a preternatural ability to sense the train of Yuuri's thoughts.

After all, that was what made them such good partners as well as friends.

"Oh, geez. I didn't expect it to be so crowded! I hope my babies are still safe," Phichit exclaimed suddenly, consciously patting the pack on his back (that seemed to be bigger than him) like a mother tending to her newborn babes.

Yuuri stood to the side and waited for Phichit to be satisfied with his appraisal. Yuuri took a moment to look around the station, where people from all walks of life, in all manners of dress, were bustling in an effort to get somewhere. He blinked. This station hadn't been this busy when he had left for his Journey, that was for sure.

Of course, Rhodes had only emerged the day Yuuri had left for his Journey, on the day of his sixteenth birthday. In Yuuri's more whimsical moments, he entertained the thought that Rhodes might have been a gift _for_ him on his birthday, at least until his rational mind brushed off the ridiculous thought. What reason would the Titan Lord of the Sun have had to care about some dime-a-dozen mortal's existence, nevermind his _birthday_?

But nonetheless, Yuuri, despite his unfamiliarity with the terrain, viewed Rhodes with almost territorial pride. His eyes chased the frothy waves moving along the sand until they crescendoed into the base of the Rhodes Aureole trying to get the hard won land to yield some space.

Yuuri's gaze moved up to the ever-steady statue and lingered. What reason could the Titan Lord have had to save Hasetsu? What was so compelling in Hasetsu that would gain favor in a _Titan's_ mind? Yuuri hadn't heard of any surprise illegitimate births, neither by man nor bird nor fowl, that had stood out as divine intervention.

"Damn, that is one old dude."

Yuuri bit back a flinch. Why did he insist upon surrounding himself with heretics that had more audacity than sense?

"I wonder how he -"

"Phichit! Would you like to walk to Hasetsu? It's only a short walk from Rhodes' station!" Yuuri said, with faux-cheer lighting his voice, trying to distract Phichit from whichever godless way he had intended to end that flash of curiosity.

Phichit turned with a grin as bright as Greek fire.

Yuuri bit back a sigh of relief.

* * *

 _What does Zeus care, or the rest of his gang?_

 _Sappho_

* * *

"So, what's Hasetsu's story?"

Yuuri turned his head only to see Phichit look at him with _that_ look in his eyes. The look that had almost always resulted in Yuuri eating something that should not have been consumed in the spirit of Discovery, or figuring out how to battle a monster while unclothed, with a fifty-fifty chance of either scenario happening.

To be fair, for every keen-eyed look Phichit had given him over the course of their friendship that resulted in him being dragged off into lands no man would brave to venture, Yuuri had matched, in both fervor and trouble caused.

Sometimes, Phichit's curiosity had even born fruit, saving them from trouble as Phichit talked his way out of being eaten by a monster in the guise of harmless gossip.

Yuuri feared to think which scenario this question would yield this time.

He licked his lips, wondering how he should answer this question. For this time it wasn't some enemy combatant Phichit was trying to get information about, it was Yuuri's _home of sixteen long years_. Phichit looked on patiently, well aware of Yuuri's need for introspection and distaste for wasting words when unnecessary.

"Phi, while in Hasetsu, you cannot - and please trust me on this - say anything bad about Rhodes, or the Titan Lord of the Sun, or Poseidon. I ask you this as a personal favor. Give me your word on this."

Phichit looked at him sideways, not bothered by the segue and clasped Yuuri's palm, squeezing it. Yuuri nodded in acknowledgement.

He took a long breath and began his tale.

"The town you will see today was not always like that. Five years ago, Hasetsu was on the brink of death. We were a poor island nation who worshipped Poseidon, cut off from the mainland, in need of supplies and money. But we had nothing of worth to attract either."

Yuuri looked at Phichit, who was looking at him completely, his frequent habit of fidgeting ignored in favor of giving Yuuri his absolute attention. Yuuri carried on, emboldened.

"But one day, out of the blue, the land we now call Rhodes arose out of the sea, bearing the seal of the Titan Lord of the Sun. It connected us to the mainland and subsequently saved us all. Hasetsu was suddenly flooded with Helios's, the Titan Lord's, devotees, eager to witness the proof of his majesty. They came in droves, stayed in our inns, and ate in our eateries. Helios gave us a spectacle to showcase, and brought us devotees who spent their money in our land. He saved us all, giving us a second chance."

Phichit hummed, and said in a far-away voice, "I wonder what could have induced Helios himself to save a poor island which could offer him nothing in return. Especially considering the island in question was _Poseidon_ ' _s territory._ Everyone knows that Helios has a rivalry with Ares, Aphrodite and Poseidon. For him to save Hasetsu, well... the reason would have to be pretty big indeed."

Yuuri stayed silent not wanting to add greek fire to the already kindling speculation by confessing that Rhodes rose out of the ocean on his sixteenth birthday. It's not like it was relevant, Yuuri told himself sharply. It wasn't an untruth. It was just…. a minimalist approach to conveying the information.

"Then what happened?" Phichit chirped, with all the enthusiasm of a babe listening to a folktale.

Yuuri continued, "With some of the money Hasetsu received, they built the Rhodes Aureole that you see in front of you." Yuuri gestured, feeling very much like a tour guide, as Phichit's head swerved to take in the statue in all its naked glory.

"You know, I can't help but wonder…" Phichit said in a considering tone. Yuuri resisted the urge to flinch. _There it was._ The famed cunning and cleverness. Yuuri shouldn't have tried hiding anything from the man said to be cleverer than Hephaestus himself.

"I mean, I know that it's to show the virtues of mind over the virtues of flesh or whatever, but I can't help but wonder if Helios really has such a tiny d-"

Yuuri started singing loudly the first song that came to his mind, which unfortunately was a dirty little ditty about fishermen and sirens, drowning out what was sure to be Phichit's last words if Helios were to hear him.

The people walking nearby startled and turned around in unison to give _Yuuri_ a dirty look. Like _he_ was the pervert!

Honestly, the things Yuuri had done to keep Phichit alive while he was in his _curious_ mood.

Yuuri quietened as his voice, unused to the strain of singing, became hoarser, burning his throat from the pressure. He fell silent, cautious; prepared to jump in and continue singing if Phichit gave even the slightest indication of continuing his line of thought.

But he need not have worried.

For Phichit was too busy laughing at Yuuri's expense.

Yuuri glared hotly.

"I'm s-sorry! You should have seen your - and then you started singing!" Phichit cut his sentence off, overcome by another shriek of laughter.

"Need I remind you of your oath, _Daedalus,"_ Yuuri said primly.

Phichit straightened, still grinning, teeth bright and cheery, "If you do so, _Icarus,_ I would be forced to remind you of the terms of our condition. I can't say anything bad while I'm in _Hasetsu._ And we," Phichit pointed to their feet, which had stopped shy of the border, "Are _not_ in Hasetsu. Thus, I would claim that my oath has been kept."

Yuuri sighed, charmed despite himself, "All that cleverness and you use it to get out of trouble for speculating on the size of someone's-"

"Yuuri! There you are!"

Yuuri clenched his mouth shut with sudden force at the familiar voice, uneasy for his mother to be burdened with the knowledge of her youngest comfortably talking about matters of the flesh.

Phichit and Yuuri shared a look, silently agreeing to a draw of their match, and they turned in unison to greet Yuuri's mother.

Yuuri settled back and watched his mother greet his friend from his days Journeying while they all stood in his childhood town that was no longer felt like his childhood town. He could see the two worlds that he had so far kept separate collide. And if the way they hugged each other was any indication, it was going to be an enthusiastic collision.

* * *

 _"When Sol [Helios the sun] reported this [Aphrodite's affair with Ares] to Vulcanus [Hephaistos], he saw them lying there naked, and summoned all the gods who saw . . . To Sol's [Helios'] progeny, however, Venus [Aphrodite], because of his disclosure, was always hostile."_

 _Pseudo-Hyginus_

* * *

"So, what's the game plan?" Phichit asked Yuuri from his perch on Yuuri's bed.

Yuuri looked over and faux-innocently said, "Game plan, whatever do you mean? Can't a friend call another friend over to his home with no ulterior motive?"

Phichit let out a stream of air from his mouth, and rolling his eyes said, "Yeah, a _friend._ But I'm your _best_ friend and mechanic. So, I ask again, _what's the game plan_?"

Yuuri grinned, wild and free. He leaned towards Phichit and said with a voice that rang red, "I need you to make me wings. Strong enough to let me take to the air, but nimble enough to keep me in it."

Phichit's eyes widened.

Yuuri continued, voice's fervor crescendoing with every word he spoke, "This Halia, a festival that celebrates Helios, I will win the Air Skating Tournament by not needing a pegasus to navigate myself in the air. I will be bringing my own pair of wings."

Phichit gaped as Yuuri clasped him by the shoulders, looked him in the eye and said with a voice that seemed to move the hands of the Fates themselves, " _ **Make me wings of my own**_."


	3. Chapter 3

"Yuuri, you know I believe _impossible_ is a social construct."

Yuuri smiled comfortingly, humoring his friend, "Yes. I do. Which is why I think you're the person for the job."

"You do? Good. That - that is good. But Yuuri, making a pretty clock is one thing. But figuring out the mechanics of _the first ever human flight?_ That's...That's venturing into Immortal territory," Phichit said, his usually smooth voice breaking and stumbling.

Yuuri softened. He didn't like to see his brother in all but blood this way. "Phichit, you know I would never willingly put you in danger. If this makes you uncomfortable in any way, if there is even _one_ misgiving in your mind, I will let this go."

Phichit spluttered, "One! Have you not been listening? My mind is full of misgivings, it is nothing _but_ misgivings!"

Yuuri looked back steadily, "Is it? Putting aside your fears of not being able to conquer mortal flight like you've conquered everything else, is there even one misgiving in your mind?"

Phichit paused. Opened his mouth. Closed it. Paused some more.

Yuuri said, mien softer than before, "If there is anyone in the world capable of it, it is you, Phichit. _Daedalus._ Now, tell me the truth. I will be flying this Halia one way or another, will you be flying with me?"

Phichit looked back, face pale, looking his age of eighteen for once in his life. Yuuri returned his gaze calmly, aware of the strength of the claws of insecurity and invisible fears that the mind could conjure.

And then Phichit smiled, slowly, like the sun peeking out at the blush of dawn, and with it rose Yuuri's hopes.

That night, Yuuri dreamt of silver skies.

* * *

 _Helios was regarded as the inventor of the four-horse chariot, a natural association given the Greek believed the sun-god drove a chariot across the sky._

* * *

With a week to Halia and the Tournament Phichit set to work, sequestering himself away in his room and sending Yuuri off on errands.

"My, my, your boy sure keeps a tight leash on you, Yuuri," Minako said one evening after a few days of watching Phichit give Yuuri his marching orders for the day before going off to rest.

Yuuri's mother's head popped up from behind the restaurant counter, suddenly interested in the topic of conversation. Yuuri could feel sweat bead the back of his neck at the heavy weight of the gazes of his mother and mentor. He laughed uneasily, "It's not like that. We're just friends."

Yuuri's mother's shoulders sunk a little in disappointment, but Minako's expression remained sly as she said in a deceptively light voice, "It tends to start out like that. But we all saw you during the Labours. You _trust_ each other."

Yuuri rolled his eyes, "That's not all that is needed to enter a romantic relationship, Minako."

Minako looked back, ageless eyes swimming with unknowable depths. "Isn't it? You'll be surprised at how often trust is missing in relationships. It shouldn't be taken for granted."

They stared at each other, uneasy (on Yuuri's end) and steady (on Minako's). Yuuri wasn't sure what Minako was hinting towards this time.

"Well then, Yuuri. Was there someone else? Someone you met during your Journey, perhaps?" Hiroko's sweet voice cut in, eager and calming.

Yuuri reddened as Minako's face settled back into her usual expression.

"No. Ah… My Journey was - There was no one other than who you all saw." Yuuri mumbled, offhandedly thinking that even heroes were not exempt from humiliation via the mother figures in their lives.

"Not even that Siren? You two seemed friendly." Minako piped up, a familiar note of gossip in her voice.

Yuuri's mother hopped up and down excitedly at the reminder, bubbling out, "Oh! She was so lovely!"

"When she wasn't trying to kill Yuuri, that is." Minako injected humorously.

Yuuri's mother clapped her hands and said fiercely, "Oh, but she apologized for that! You mustn't hold it against it, Minako! She was just doing her job, like you and me."

Minako rolled her eyes, gracefully leaning against the table with her elbows on her knees, "Yes, but unlike _you and me, her_ job is to lure unsuspecting sailors to their death."

"You can't fault someone for their nature, Minako. Some people… are not like you and me. They have other duties and responsibilities they are beholden to," Yuuri's mother said, her voice losing its color over the course of the sentence.

Minako looked at Yuuri's mother wordlessly, exchanging glances that spoke of shared history and pain.

Yuuri bit his lip, wishing that his mother could have stayed happy, even if it was at his expense.

But some memories weren't so easy to hide from.

"Yuuri?"

They all blinked as a bleary-eyed Phichit stumbled in, with sleep-mussed hair and crinkled clothes, rubbing his eyes with the back of his hand. Yuuri got up and walked towards Phichit, directing him towards a table his doting mother was already setting up with food.

"Yuuri?" Phichit's voice sounded plaintive, young.

Yuuri squeezed his shoulder with the hand resting on it, "I'm here, Phi."

Phichit sighed, and with a quiet tone in his voice said, "I have something to tell you."

Yuuri could feel his back straighten at the tone, Minako and his mother's gazes too fixed on his young friend. Yuuri felt a twist in his stomach, heart thudding rapidly.

Phichit looked up, dark eyes wide and shiny, full of something Yuuri couldn't identify.

"It's ready."

Yuuri felt his heart lurch as Minako made a questioning sound, but all Yuuri could see was the brilliantly burning fierceness in Phichit's eyes.

"It's ready. Come Halia, Icarus will fly, with the gods themselves as his witness."

Yuuri closed his eyes, fisted hand falling open by his side, a somber peace settling over his bones as the inn exploded in a cacophony.

Yuuri breathed.

* * *

 _"Hephaestus gave many gifts as a thank-offering to Helios (the Sun), who had taken him up in his chariot when he sank exhausted on the battlefield of Phlegra [in the war of the Gigantes]."  
_ \- _Apollonius Rhodius, Argonautica_

* * *

"Have you lost all your senses?!" Minako raged, as Yuuri's mother stood, frozen, with tears flowing unbidden from her eyes.

"Mortal flight with a pegasus is dangerous enough! But you want to tempt the Fates by flying unaccompanied?! After we saw you off five years ago, your family had to watch you battle creatures unlike anything they'd ever seen before, and now you want them to watch you die? Like this?! Have you lost your senses, boy?!" Minako spat out, baring her teeth, looking more and more like an incoming shark.

Yuuri stared back and said coolly, "How many Helios devotees have been by this year? By how much has the number decreased this year?"

"That is none of your concern," Minako said, back straight and proud.

Yuuri raised a brow, "Isn't it? You think that just because I was on my Journey, I wouldn't know about the problems Hasetsu is facing? I am no longer the boy who had to hold onto your hand, Minako. This town is mine as well, I am responsible for it."

Yuuri's mother gasped, "Not by putting your life on the line, Yuuri. That is not the way."

Yuuri looked back, and said, voice thick, "Five years ago, I was just a boy. I could do nothing about the problems. But things are different now. _I_ am different. I am a Hero now."

"B-But the Titan Lord saved us, Yuuri! We no longer need to be saved." Yuuri's mother cried out.

"But for how long?!" Yuuri cried out, hand clenching, "He saved us last time, but no one knows why, and there is no guarantee he will save us again! We need to learn to save ourselves, not wait for others to do it for us!"

"Fool! You think yourself better than the gods?" Minako said belligerently.

Yuuri turned to look at her, and said simply, "I think myself more faithful to the lands and people of Hasetsu. I am no Immortal, too busy with the grand affairs of heavens. _I_ am devoted to Hasetsu."

Yuuri's mother gasped, the sound shattering the brittle tension between Yuuri and Minako. "What are you saying, Yuuri! Be silent!"

But Yuuri was filled with fearlessness he knew only in battle, and he turned to her and said passionately, "No, Ma. I will fly this Halia, and then people all over the world will come to Hasetsu again. With the money I win at the Tournament, I will build a Hero school here, that anyone can enter. I can _save_ Hasetsu."

At the declaration, silence swept the room.

"I never took Yuuri Katsuki to be so selfish," Minako said flatly.

Phichit who had been silent until that moment, stood up, chair screeching against the floor as he angrily said, "Yuuri is not selfish! He is risking his life for Hasetsu! How is that selfish?!"

Minako, shoulders slumped, and with a strange tone in her voice said, "Sometimes it's selfish to do the right thing, sometimes it's better to not do anything at all. To let things be."

Yuuri looked at her, his mentor and second mother, and simply said, "That's not what you've both raised me to do. I cannot sit if I can act. That's not what I was taught. I'm sorry."

Yuuri looked back, eyes alight, and said, "This Halia, I will fly. I **will** save Hasetsu."

* * *

 _Now you'd like me on my knees,_  
 _crying out to Hera, "Blah, blah, blah,_  
 _bring him home safe and free of warts,"_  
 _or blubbering, "Wah, wah, wah, thank you,_  
 _thank you, for curing my liver condition."_  
 _Good grief, gods do what they like._  
 _They call down hurricanes with a whisper  
or send off a tsunami the way you would a love letter._

 _\- Charaxos and Larichos, Sappho_

* * *

Yuuri stared at the ceiling as he laid in his room. After his declaration in the restaurant, he and Phichit had gone to their rooms to let his mother and Minako simmer down.

Yuuri could feel an uneasy twistiness in his gut. He didn't like fighting with people he held dear, but this was the one thing he could do for Hasetsu and its future. He could save them all, and his school would ensure that they were no longer at the benevolent and unchecked mercies of the gods. He could save them all.

But the knowledge of the rightness of his choice didn't make the memory of Minako's disappointed anger and his mother's tears any easier to bear.

Yuuri pushed his pillow over his face, unable to bear the guilt.

"What are you doing?"

Yuuri jumped as a voice spoke next to him, the approach of its owner disguised by the pillow covering Yuuri's ears. He pulled the pillow off his face, and looked at the intruder with a gasp.

"Minako!"

Minako stared back, unimpressed.

Yuuri felt his ears redden, and he stuttered, accusing "You didn't knock! I could have been-"

Minako rolled her eyes, and calmly said, as if Yuuri didn't want to disintegrate in front of her eyes, "Please. Like I haven't seen it all before."

Yuuri felt like dying, both at the situation and the unasked for knowledge. He whimpered, clutching his head, unable to bear the weight of living anymore. But the hands didn't stop the sound of Minako's next words from reaching him.

"Is your heart still set on this ridiculous venture?" Minako asked point-blank.

Yuuri pulled away from his hands and just looked back at Minako, still flushed, but resolute.

She shook her head, and said with dry, resigned anger, "Stubborn child."

"I thought I was selfish?" Yuuri said wryly, trying to lighten the despondent air surrounding her.

Minako's eyes flashed, "You are both! Now listen to me, stubborn child, I have looked after you and trained you to become a Hero since you could stand. Don't think you're let off the hook from training just because you have become a Hero. Tomorrow, at six in the morning, I expect you by the sea."

Yuuri bowed and, careful not to let a smile of relief show, obediently said, "Yes, Teacher."

Minako humphed, and testily said, "I do not condone your actions, but I will do my best to make sure it's not the last thing you do, even if you _are_ hare-brained enough to carry it through. Don't be late. We have a lot of work to do."

Yuuri looked at Minako's back, straight and proud, and felt like laughing loud and clear to expel the sheer force of emotion gathering in his chest, but resisted. He settled for a smile and slumped back into his bed, pulling the covers over his head and forced himself to sleep so he would be able to meet Minako early the next morning.

After all, _they_ had a lot of work to do.

That night, his dreams were _silver, silver, silver_.

* * *

 _Mother dear, I  
can't finish my  
weaving  
You may  
blame Aphrodite_

 _soft as she is_

 _she has almost  
killed me with  
love for that boy  
_- _Sappho_

* * *

"Okay, so let's see it," Minako said, hands on her hips, clad in form-fitting clothes, backlit by the morning sun above the sea. Yuuri felt a twinge in his chest at the familiar sight; When seeing Minako like this, in his more sentimental moments, Yuuri could swear that he was in the presence of a being far more powerful and knowing than what her flesh would imply.

When Yuuri was younger, Minako's infallibility was one of his universal constants. He took his heart and strength from his mother, but found his head and reason in Minako.

He could still remember the time Minako had caught him practicing with a wooden stick, pretending it was a sword; how she had not laughed at the thought of a mortal attempting to become a Hero, but instead, with an unreadable look in her ancient eyes, trained him on how to hold a sword properly.

He had once plucked up the courage to ask Minako how she knew everything from dance to war-craft, only to get an invasive answer of, "I have had a long time to learn things no one expected me to be able to do."

And yet, that answer to Yuuri, whose own dreams were laughed at by neighborhood kids, was revealing enough that Yuuri never asked again.

As Yuuri went through the familiar movements with his sword, under the watchful warmth of the sun, his mind - peaceful for the first time that day - wandered. It remembered the way Minako had combed back his hair with her fingers the day he had haltingly asked her if becoming a Hero was an impossible dream for someone like him; if someone with no godly blood to speak of could ever aspire to reach the heights of Heroes like Hercules.

He thought back to the pain in his chest as Minako had mercilessly told him, "No, I don't believe you can _hope_ to aspire to reach Hercules's heights."

He felt the bloom in his chest as he recalled how she had then leaned in, and with a voice steady with certainty said, "I believe you can and will one day _surpass_ him."

And it was that support that had lead Yuuri to brave the journey to go through the Labors of Hercules, the deathly trials needed to be known as a Hero in the eyes of the world, both mortal and immortal. It was that confidence that had had Yuuri finishing the Trials in five years, a feat that had taken Hercules himself twelve years to carry out.

Yuuri could see the pride in Minako's eyes as she looked over critically at his posture, unable to find any faults.

 _It's because of you and Hasetsu, that I became the only mortal to successfully carry out the Labours. And now it's my turn to give back, and save you all._

But if Minako knew the train of thought his mind had started on, she ignored it, calling out instructions and directing him one way and another.

"Good. You've kept up with your training." She said at last, a rare thread of hard-won approval sneaking in.

Yuuri smiled, "Hard not to, when creatures keep coming after you with all they have."

Minako looked at him sarcastically, "Hmm, I wonder why that kept happening, _Icarus?_ Couldn't possibly be because you and that friend of yours kept going where you weren't supposed to. _"_

Yuuri laughed uneasily at the rebuke, and said, eyes wide with faux-innocence, "To be fair, that only happened like a tenth of the time. The rest of the time, we were just victims of circumstance!"

Minako looked back, unamused, "More like eighty percent of the time!"

Yuuri's lips twitched, "Well, maybe around forty percent..."

Minako's jaw clenched, "Twenty! I'd say more like sixty!"

Yuuri's eyes glimmered with repressed amusement, "Well, let's both settle for the average, and say fifty percent, yes?"

Minako's posture cracked, hints of amusement creeping in, as she, for the first time that day, smiled at Yuuri.

Yuuri relaxed and smiled back, relieved.

Later, they sat on the sand, facing the sea, talking like Yuuri remembered they used to before Yuuri left for his Journey.

"If you keep going this way, Helios himself will not be able to take his eyes off of you," Minako said offhandedly, leaning on her hands.

Yuuri reddened, and he stumbled out, "I don't know about that, Minako. Helios is the best Air Skater there is. For Styx's sakes, he invented the art! I doubt I will be able to impress _him_."

Minako quirked her lips, in that obnoxious way she had of making him feel like she knew something he didn't, and hummed.

At that, Yuuri flailed and said, "I'm serious! Helios is Helios! He won't be interested in some random mortal!"

Minako turned to him abruptly, eyes flashing, " _Random mortal?_ Is that what you think of yourself, _Icarus_? Not everyone gets a second name from the Oracle at Delphi, you know! And you and that hooligan friend of yours _both_ got one! When will you get it through your thick head?! You are the first person after Hercules himself to pass the Labours! Most people during their Journey don't have the temerity to go after the Labours, instead choosing the simpler route of becoming a Hero, but you chose and succeeded in the Labours themselves! And in less than half the time it took that beef-head Hercules!"

"Minako!" Yuuri said softly, humbled and emotional.

Minako looked at him steadily, "What?! Hercules _was_ an entitled beef-head. You are far above and beyond him. A real Hero. One who would never stray from his duties and promises. That's why it pains me so to see you throw it all away for some mad scheme, Yuuri."

Yuuri licked his suddenly dry lips, and softly said, "I… wouldn't be the person you raised me to be if I ran away from my promises, Minako. That's why I have to do this. Hasetsu is my duty. I have to at least try to save it. I have to. Please try to understand."

Minako closed her eyes and looked out at the sea with a far-away look in her eyes, and said with a softness that came from the sad knowledge of the inevitability of Yuuri's decision, "Stubborn child."

* * *

 _A puff of smoke, a little fog, away goes the hero,  
it's happily ever after _

_\- Charaxos and Larichos, Sappho_

* * *

"Yuuri, you ready?" Phichit said, voice thrumming with excitement.

Yuuri, equally excited but less overt about it, nodded.

Phichit pulled back the sheet over the contraption in the middle of his room, with the showmanship of a court jester mixed with the elegance and taste of Minako, to reveal his invention.

Yuuri gasped, unable to help himself, as he ran his eyes over the wooden, feathered wings. The wings might have looked unassuming, even mundane, but for the tips of the wings which were sharp and deadly, like the blade of a sword. The feathers, collected by Yuuri from the sheddings of birds in the woods, were bizarre and multi-colored, forming a cacophony of vibrancy, framing the weapons of war that were the aerodynamic wing-tips.

"Phichit.. _._ " Yuuri said, still unable to tear his eyes away from the display.

Phichit looked back, nervous but proud, and hummed questioningly.

"They're the single most beautiful sight I have ever laid my eyes on." Yuuri murmured reverently.

Phichit relaxed and smiled, a soft, tremulous thing just as beautiful as the wings he had created.

They smiled at each other, before Phichit shook himself and in his usual jovial tone boomed, "Ah, but will they fly, you must be wondering!"

Yuuri settled down on the balls of his feet, and popped out nonchalantly, "Not really. I know they will. You made them, after all."

Phichit stumbled, clearly taken aback by Yuuri's confidence, but regrouped, expression pleased, bumbling out, "As you should be! Now the question becomes, want to take them for a try?"

Yuuri's grin was the only answer Phichit needed, as he whooped and lifted up the wings from their stand.

They ran outside with the energy of boisterous young boys going off to play, wings carefully held. The customers in the inn turned in their seats to watch them run down the hallway laughing. They ran to the sea, which was situated next to the inn.

When all they could see was water Phichit stopped, turning back, eyes bright and offered the wings to Yuuri.

Yuuri, fingers trembling, touched the chassis lightly; he could feel the grain of the wood underneath the pads of his fingers. He gripped it tightly, carefully, testing out the weight.

Surprisingly light.

Together, the two of them put the wings on Yuuri, binding his arms to the wings. Yuuri could feel the structure like it was part of his own body. He felt his mind calm as it only did when he had a sword in his hand.

He felt _right._

Yuuri could feel the bubbling in his chest spurred on by his giddy thoughts and the adrenaline coursing through his body.

He breathed.

A hand fell on his shoulder. Yuuri opened his eyes to see Phichit looking at him seriously.

"Yuuri, these wings will carry you, I swear it on my life. But I had to make some concessions when building them. You cannot fly too close to the sun, or get too close to the water from the sea, lest the sun melt the wax or the ocean spray clog the feathers. You must not attempt either. Swear it."

Yuuri smiled, and said steadily, "I will do as you say, Phichit. I swear it."

Phichit's grave expression lightened, as he turned to look at the wings like they were an enjoyable plaything again, and with a wicked grin on his face said, "Well then, what are you waiting for? Take to your flight, Icarus!"

Yuuri grinned, and did just so.

As Phichit shouted, _Fly, Yuuri, Fly!,_ Yuuri took to the skies with a run, feeling the wind beneath his artificial wings, until it was all he could hear.

The wind, the sun and him.

Yuuri laughed, louder and clearer than he would have with the ground under his feet, inhibitions erased with the wind in his hair and the clouds beneath him.

He felt invincible.

He felt inevitable.

He felt immortal.

Yuuri practiced his Air Skating moves, gliding, spinning, swooping in the air until the air itself hummed with his name.

In the distance he could see the Rhodes Aureole, with Helios looking down from his chariot. He felt a spurt of temerity rise in his chest.

He looked out at the setting sun, the sky colourful like the feathers in his wings, and promised himself.

No matter the cost, he **was** going to win.

There was no other alternative.

Yuuri breathed.

And flew.


	4. Chapter 4

**Author's Note:**

Happy New Year!

 **This story now has a posted prequel! It's called "The Labours of Yuuri Katsuki." It deals with what happened to Yuuri on his Journey.**

So, funny story, I've had this chapter sitting in my docs for _a while_ now, I wanted to finish the Main Act (Ahem, ahem, ahem) for this fic in this chapter + wanted the Main Act (ahem, ahem, ahem) to be the first thing I posted this year but alas! 'twas was not meant to be!

I mean, sure, I could wait a bit longer, but I feel like I have made you guys wait long enough for this.

Tbh this chapter didn't go the way I expected it to go, and it was only after I had a breakthrough that it started to flow, and I'm very happy with how it has turned out.

Hope you all enjoy it as well!

Happy Reading!

x

x

The first day of Halia, Yuuri woke up without realizing it or being quite ready for it. One minute he was deep in Morpheus's lands and the next he was staring at his ceiling; his departure abrupt and without opportunity to say a final goodbye.

As Yuuri lay awake, a sense of stillness steadying his heart, he felt like a fallen leaf on uninterrupted water, afloat and slowly drifting away from everything he'd previously known… but buoyant nonetheless.

He could feel the warmth from the sun seeping through his bed-clothes like liquid gold. He was loathe to leave the serenity of the bed, the sun and the morning light and how it seemed to cradle him in its arms. But...

Taking one last deep, conscious breath, Yuuri got up and reached for his sword.

Maybe the sun would be kind enough to wait for him, but the same couldn't be said for Minako and her awaiting training session.

* * *

 _Help! He is gone. That wild boy, Love, has escaped!_  
 _Just now, as day was breaking, he flew from his bed and was gone._  
 _\- Meleager of Gadara_

* * *

"Yuuri." Minako said with the steel and decisiveness of a wartime general, "Today, you will prove to me how serious you are about this. Otherwise I will not allow you to go through with your foolhardy plan."

Yuuri felt the pace of his heart pick up. Minako wasn't someone who let her point rest that easily. She was a fighter. She wasn't going to let him go through with this unless he had convinced her of his preparedness.

It wasn't a fair demand considering Halia was starting in an hour, Yuuri was carrying the hopes of their village on his shoulders and couldn't afford to back out of the competition. It was irrational and unfair and cruel and...

Yuuri's lips quirked and he held up his sword.

...He had been expecting this.

"I will fly today, Minako, and your voice will be the first one I hear after I leave the ocean. I swear it." Yuuri said, filled with careless confidence, as he removed his shoes and started stretching.

Minako reared her head back like an angry, wild stallion, and tsk-ed, "Stubborn child. Let's see if that body can match that careless mouth of yours."

Yuuri smiled and took his opening position.

* * *

 _Leuconoe, why try to know_  
 _The future, which cannot be known?_  
 _Or what the Assyrian numbers say_  
 _Of your fate and my own?_

 _Put it away, don't waste your time,_  
 _Winter will come on_  
 _And break the lower sea on the rocks_  
 _While we drink summer's wine._  
 _\- Horace_

* * *

"Yuuri! Yuuri! There you are! I was getting worri- Uh, why is Minako looking murderously pleased? Just… what did you two do in the past one hour?" Phichit asked hesitatingly, with an worrying edge of morbid curiosity.

Yuuri resisted the urge to smile and shrugged, putting an arm around Phichit and squeezed him tightly, tuning out Phichit's protests as he yelled about sweat and _the smell, Yuuri, for Styx's sake, you reek!_

"Yuuri." Hiroko said.

Yuuri looked at her and smiled warmly, "Yes, Ma?"

Hiroko shuffled her feet and smiled back, a tiny, blooming thing worth more to Yuuri than all the gold and jewels in Hades's realm, and softly urged, "Yuuri, you need to get ready for the dance. Go on, now! Shoo! We can't have our champion being late to his first ever Pyrrhic Dance."

Yuuri's eyes widened and he resisted the urge to let out a curse, for, in his haste and anxiety about Halia, he had forgotten all about _that._

"Pyrrhic Dance?" Phichit asked, voice muffled from his face currently being shoved into Yuuri's armpit.

"It's the dance of elite warriors. Yuuri, as the returning Hero and warrior of this village, is to perform it during Halia's opening ceremony in front of everyone present so all can see the glory of - _oh, for god's sake, Yuuri, let the poor boy go!_ \- oh, never mind!" Minako said testily, over Hiroko's unsuccessfully muffled giggles.

Phichit cooed with interest, and as Yuuri had let go of him, was now able to indulge in jumping up and down in glee, "You never told me you could dance, Yuuri! I thought we didn't keep secrets, you and I! I feel like I can no longer recognize you, my quick-footed, secretive friend."

Yuuri rolled his eyes at the glee in his friend's eyes.

"You never mentioned you could dance, Yuuri?" Mari, having just entered said, suspiciously nonchalant, Yuuri, with the intuition all younger siblings everywhere possessed, stood up straighter and prepared himself for what was sure to come.

"No! Can you believe him, Mari?!" Phichit said, exaggerating his dismay, although Yuuri could see a bit of genuineness in the caricature.

His heart softened, and Yuuri opened his mouth…

"Oh? So, I assume he hasn't told you that he is also going to be dancing in _Gymnopaidiai_ or The Festival of Unarmed Dancing this morning?" Mari asked with the same faux innocence only a true harbinger of chaos can replicate.

"Unarmed dancing? Isn't all dancing without weapons?" Phichit asked quizzically.

Mari, with the air of a predator having finally corralled its prey into exactly where it had intended, smiled and said, with a lightness belying the weight of her revelation, "Oh, not unarmed as in 'without weapons', unarmed as in _naked._ "

Phichit slowly turned to Yuuri, movements sharp and jerkish, like someone had forgotten to oil his hinges. Yuuri resisted the urge to close his eyes at the _look_ on Phichit's face.

… Now, he remembered, he hadn't _forgotten_ the dance, more like blocked out all reminders of the event.

"Yuuri?" Phichit whispered with every syllable coated with vicious glee that could only come from voluntary humiliation of one's best friend.

"My Yuuri's been dancing since before he could even pick up a sword," Hiroko said, with maternal pride and obliviousness to her son's mental anguish, "Minako herself taught him all she knew about dancing!"

"Hmm," Minako hummed sounding darkly amused at the unfolding events, "If one is to use a sword, one must know the practical skill of dance. Why, Yuuri proved himself to me this very morning with his Pyrrhic Dance, it was… convincing." Minako finished grudgingly.

"Aw, and I _missed_ it? That's awful! Yuuri! You are supposed to _tell_ me about these things! You'll have to make it up to me by dancing the same thing for your first Halia dance!" Phichit said excitedly.

Yuuri's eyes widened, "That dance is not meant for such a public spectacle, Phichit. It is..." Yuuri trailed off not knowing how to word the twisty feeling in his gut at the thought of people seeing _that_ dance; the dance that was about his ambitions and wishes and hopes. It was…

"Beautiful. That dance was insolent in its temerity, almost daring me to look away, but I couldn't. I couldn't look away from _you_ , Yuuri." Minako said definitively, resolute in her belief in the truth of her words, "Use it. Make everyone _see_ you. Tell your story, The Story of Icarus."

The Story of Icarus, huh?

It sounded… Epic, like something that could withstand the sands of time.

Yuuri wanted that.

He wanted to make them all unable to look away.

Turning to Phichit, Yuuri said, words sleek like a sword and just as heavy, "Guess you'll be seeing my dance from this morning after all, Phi."

* * *

 _See, in the white of the winter air_  
 _The day hangs like a rose._  
 _It droops down to the reaching hand_  
 _Take it before it goes._  
 _\- Horace_

* * *

 **End Note:**

Hope you guys enjoyed that! If so, I'd love to hear from you in the reviews!

Till Next Time!


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